Science, Biological, Medical (genetics, illness/mental illness, death)

Introduction [1] On December 12, 2008 The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released a teaching document, Dignitatis Personae: The Vatican’s New Instruction on Bioethics. On this occasion Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George, now president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, applauded “developments which advance medical progress with respect for the sanctity of human […]

[1] “When [Jesus] went ashore, [Jesus] saw a great [crowd]; and [Jesus] had compassion for them and cured their sick.” (Matthew 14: 14) [2] “I am involved in the genetics of health disparities because African-Americans MUST be involved in research on the human genome if our communities are to benefit optimally from the rapid growth […]

[1] Periodically, I find myself put on listservs delivering information to my inbox that someone thinks I should not be without. Recently I found myself on a Vatican News listserv. One morning last March, I opened to a headline announcing that after 1,500 years the Vatican had named seven new deadly sins. To the usual […]

[1] In 2000, ELCA’s Studies Department in Church in Society held a consultation on human cloning. In the publication of the papers that followed,[1] project director Roger A. Willer created a literary form to summarize the discussions that followed the oral presentation of each of the papers at the consultation. He called it “Threads from […]

With What Should the ELCA Grapple in the Study Process that Forms the Process Leading to a Social Statement? [1] It is an article of faith–among scientists no less than among Christians– that the natural world is intelligible. While science cannot explain why this may be so, believers construe the regularity and intelligibility of the […]

[1] At the onset, a disclaimer: these are reflections for a half-hour, not so much comprehensive as suggestive, investigative, provocative ¼ characterized as much by musing and wrestling as by research, especially from one on the theological side of the equation: [2] “I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and […]

1] Abstract: Proleptic ethics begins by projecting a vision of a preferred future; then it seeks creative opportunities to actualize the vision. Grounded in God’s eschatological promise of transformation and new creation, proleptic ethics projects a vision of a just, sustainable, and healthy society. This approach is contrasted with the ethical task according to stop […]

[1] The title of this fourth plenary session is quite a mouthful.[1] [2] It often happens that after many days and hours of hard work on a project, I realize I am just beginning to figure out what I need to figure out. The puzzle pieces that I place on the table in what follows […]

[1] My systematic theologian’s mind has serious limitations when it comes to talking about genetics, medical science, and the age of biological intervention. One thing I can say with a great deal of confidence is that science clearly shows us that human beings are complicated: in every way and at every level, physical and biological, […]

Life-Extension: Past, Present, and Future [1] At the beginning of the 20th century, the average life expectancy in the United States was 48 years. One hundred years later, it is 78. This change came from public health gains: sanitation, diet, immunization, antibiotics. Americans did not decide in 1900 to pursue 30 more years on Earth. […]